A In Living Color song that is much more catchy than what is about to follow, but it basically shares the same sentiment, viz. an ode to the individual. I haven't written something philosophical in quite a while, so it's quite encouraging to see that even if not superficially, then at least subconsciously I'm still pondering on such issues.
It's funny how things play out. You might be the most meticulous of planners and might have prepared for any and every eventuality, but all the graph needs is one little kink for everything to go haywire. Chaos theory at its best. The butterfly doesn't even need to flap its wings anymore. The mere hint of its presence is enough. Linearity went obsolete a long time ago and it's about time we realized it.
Pardon the jargon but it is apt in this context. We are not a mechanistic society anymore. Formalized structures and strictures don't work. There's just too much dynamism going around for that to happen. New fads blink in and out of existence. Societal norms are regularly twisted and flouted as per requirement. Alternate sexualities, radical ideologies, new faiths, more innovations - it's a never-ending milieu that keeps churning to some intrinsic cosmic rhythm. You can't survive anymore by staying put in one place and following orders, neither can people and institutions be slotted into convenient little boxes and put aside. It's not that simple anymore.
Randomness is inbuilt in life. A minuscule change inside a minute nucleus can give rise to completely new species. Newtonian dynamics fail miserably here, thus the increasing focus on non-linear mathematics and Chaos Theory. The underlying assumption itself recognizes this inherent instability and focuses more on finding patterns rather than definitive laws and explanations. I don't see why we can't adopt the same approach in our own lives. Mechanistic must way for Organic, mutual adjustment should supplant hierarchies. More often than not it's lack of interaction and the consequent dearth and distortion of information that causes interpersonal strife. Clustering into cults and cabals only serves to fuel this alienation. It's not as if I've come up with some fascinating new insight here. All of us are aware of this at one level or the other. Yet we choose to ignore this in favor of an anachronistic system. The reasons for this, thus, assume even more importance.
Man is a social animal. An oft-quoted adage used to explain away myriad human vagaries ranging from block parties to orgies. There is no denying the truth encapsulated in this phrase, but one can certainly look at augmenting the same. What is the basic primal need that makes a human being crave contact? Why do even the most hardened criminals break down under solitary confinement? This need, I feel, is acknowledgment. It serves to verify our existence, that there is a purpose for our being on this orb. Every moment we spend on this temporal plane is spent hankering after recognition, be it from the basest of life forms. For us to feel truly alive, we need constant reassurance that we have a tangible sensory imprint on some other living being. Even extreme hatred is acceptable compared to total indifference. It is this desperation that drives people to band together on the flimsiest of spiritual and moral foundations. It's the fear of losing this acknowledgment that impels people to conform, to stop thinking and mindlessly follow the herd. We can go to any lengths as long as we have the comfort of being part of the collective, and history is replete with such examples.
Is a paradigm shift in the offing? I don't know. When the motivating factor is something so basic, so much part of the very reason for being, then we need to pare off the succeeding layers of secondary motivations before we can attack it. For us to leave the comfort of the flock and set out alone into the cold wintry night, there has to be a philosophical shift from the 'collective' to the 'individual'. We can't detach ourselves from the superstructure unless we become secure about our own identity. Acknowledgment can be earned through one's own efforts, acceptance can come independent of a group. It's not a radical concept, but certainly difficult to digest for most of us. Maybe we don't like risk, or we might just be plain darn lazy. The bottom line is that there is a problem and a solution. The spaces in between must now be filled.
It's funny how things play out. You might be the most meticulous of planners and might have prepared for any and every eventuality, but all the graph needs is one little kink for everything to go haywire. Chaos theory at its best. The butterfly doesn't even need to flap its wings anymore. The mere hint of its presence is enough. Linearity went obsolete a long time ago and it's about time we realized it.
Pardon the jargon but it is apt in this context. We are not a mechanistic society anymore. Formalized structures and strictures don't work. There's just too much dynamism going around for that to happen. New fads blink in and out of existence. Societal norms are regularly twisted and flouted as per requirement. Alternate sexualities, radical ideologies, new faiths, more innovations - it's a never-ending milieu that keeps churning to some intrinsic cosmic rhythm. You can't survive anymore by staying put in one place and following orders, neither can people and institutions be slotted into convenient little boxes and put aside. It's not that simple anymore.
Randomness is inbuilt in life. A minuscule change inside a minute nucleus can give rise to completely new species. Newtonian dynamics fail miserably here, thus the increasing focus on non-linear mathematics and Chaos Theory. The underlying assumption itself recognizes this inherent instability and focuses more on finding patterns rather than definitive laws and explanations. I don't see why we can't adopt the same approach in our own lives. Mechanistic must way for Organic, mutual adjustment should supplant hierarchies. More often than not it's lack of interaction and the consequent dearth and distortion of information that causes interpersonal strife. Clustering into cults and cabals only serves to fuel this alienation. It's not as if I've come up with some fascinating new insight here. All of us are aware of this at one level or the other. Yet we choose to ignore this in favor of an anachronistic system. The reasons for this, thus, assume even more importance.
Man is a social animal. An oft-quoted adage used to explain away myriad human vagaries ranging from block parties to orgies. There is no denying the truth encapsulated in this phrase, but one can certainly look at augmenting the same. What is the basic primal need that makes a human being crave contact? Why do even the most hardened criminals break down under solitary confinement? This need, I feel, is acknowledgment. It serves to verify our existence, that there is a purpose for our being on this orb. Every moment we spend on this temporal plane is spent hankering after recognition, be it from the basest of life forms. For us to feel truly alive, we need constant reassurance that we have a tangible sensory imprint on some other living being. Even extreme hatred is acceptable compared to total indifference. It is this desperation that drives people to band together on the flimsiest of spiritual and moral foundations. It's the fear of losing this acknowledgment that impels people to conform, to stop thinking and mindlessly follow the herd. We can go to any lengths as long as we have the comfort of being part of the collective, and history is replete with such examples.
Is a paradigm shift in the offing? I don't know. When the motivating factor is something so basic, so much part of the very reason for being, then we need to pare off the succeeding layers of secondary motivations before we can attack it. For us to leave the comfort of the flock and set out alone into the cold wintry night, there has to be a philosophical shift from the 'collective' to the 'individual'. We can't detach ourselves from the superstructure unless we become secure about our own identity. Acknowledgment can be earned through one's own efforts, acceptance can come independent of a group. It's not a radical concept, but certainly difficult to digest for most of us. Maybe we don't like risk, or we might just be plain darn lazy. The bottom line is that there is a problem and a solution. The spaces in between must now be filled.
4 comments:
Finally! This, as I strongly believe, has got to be the best post on this blog.
One hell of a M.O. Welcome back, m'boy! (a hearty clap on the shoulder to you)
aw shucks. i'm blushing now.
You could return the favour. You have noticed how you have not commented on a single post by me, haven't you?
I agree. Not that I've read many posts, but damn good one!
Post a Comment